HannahT Report post Posted October 19, 2016 Hello! A client asked me to make a belt for her, and she was very specific about wanting a decorative hole pattern the whole length of it, like one she had. She picked out a piece of Wickett & Craig English bridle leather (10-12 oz.), which is gorgeous, but I'm wondering how many holes I can even put in it before it starts to stretch when she puts it on. And then she asked if I could just punch a hole part of the way, so it makes a little circle right on top instead of a hole. I'm not too crazy about that idea. All I have are circles (I don't have the oval punches). Has anybody tried to make a belt like this before? Am I just being paranoid? Any suggestions for getting all those holes even? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rejerome Report post Posted October 19, 2016 Hi HannaT, I'm not going to attempt to address the question on stretching. There are factors such as hole size, spacing, firmness of the leather, how tight its worn,..... To make the holes consistently I would create a pattern on poster board. If the pattern is a repeating one then I'd make a pattern that is just of one section of the repeating pattern, then use it to do the layout on the belt. To punch only dots (not all the way through) you could make your own simple tool. A nail. A metal punch . A short piece of steel rod from the hardware store. Lots of options to make your own simple tool for this project. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted October 19, 2016 I don't think women wear belts like we do. I put on my belt in the morning and pull it tight to keep my pants up all day. Most ladies wear more fitted clothing and a belt is mostly used as a accent. Women's jeans are cut in a way that usually just buttoning them will keep them up. I doubt she will be wrenching it down tight to wear all day. I'd say talk to her about how she will wear it and what limitations you think the project has and go from there. On another note my boss taught me that sometimes you have to sell somebody what they want. You can't talk them out of it and if you do, they get embarrassed, leave, and buy what they wanted from somewhere else. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MADMAX22 Report post Posted October 23, 2016 10-12oz WC bridle leather is pretty strong stuff. Unless she is carrying concealed or has a bunch of stuff to hang off it for work I wouldnt worry to much about punching some holes as long as they are smaller (not half the width of the belt or something like that). Now cutting out a half circle on the edge I would be leery of on a belt, that would really affect it because you would have a spot where it transfers all the stress to the bottom half of the belt basically. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
